The sub-yard in Mapusa owned by Goa Agricultural Marketing Board (GAMB) is in a pathetic state. In most stalls, plaster of the roof and walls has peeled off in many places, allowing water to seep into the building whenever it rain. The walls are soaked and mangled electric wires hang in the open. Customers have virtually stopped visiting this market because of the unhygienic conditions in and around the area. Due to poor maintenance, some of the stalls are about to collapse.
The Mapusa market sub-yard was constructed in 1984. It has 47 stalls, 21 godowns, 10 fruit sheds and an auction shed having 12 blocks. However, it does not have a proper access road for vehicles, which have to enter the sub-yard through Kadamba bus stand.
The shopkeepers complained that the Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) does not collect garbage daily; cattle and dogs could easily enter the sub-yard as there was no fencing around it; there were neither drinking water facilities nor street lights. Besides rent, they were paying a one percent cess on the cost of goods to the GAMB, but the Board did not provide them the required services and facilities in return.
“The Board had decided to construct a new sub-yard besides the existing sub-yard three years ago. Soil-testing was done at a cost of Rs12 lakh, but the project did not materialize. The project was shifted to Ponda,” added a shopkeeper.
GAMB Assistant Secretary P A Naik stated that the MMC collected garbage twice a week from the sub-yard. He said, “MMC has increased the garbage tax to Rs 400 per unit annually from this financial year. They (stall owners) have already paid garbage tax to the tune of Rs 31,000 to MMC as per the revised garbage tax. Everyday garbage is generated in the sub-yard, but since the MMC is not collecting garbage daily, the shopkeepers are forced to collect and dump it in the open space. They requested the MMC to collect it daily but in vain.
GAMB Chairman and former Dy Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly Ulhas Asnodkar stated that the Mapusa sub-yard was built 30 years ago. He said, “The wholesale business activities have increased in Mapusa. The Board has 10,000 sq metres of land beside the sub-yard. It is planning to construct the new sub-yard there. The estimated cost of this project is Rs 100 crore. They are waiting for the construction of a road that will pass through their property to the new Kadamba bus stand. Once this road is complete, the Board will undertake the construction of the new sub-yard. Meanwhile, they have issued tenders for repairing the existing stalls and also for cleaning the gutters.”
